What Is a Military Status Verification and When do you Need One?

A military status verification provides proof of whether a person is or is not on active military duty. This type of verification is a requirement of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), a federal statute. The SCRA provides certain protections to those on active military duty, called up for military duty or recently retired.

The SCRA’s goal is to allow men and women to serve without worries of default judgments, evictions, foreclosure, etc. For this reason, according to the SCRA, creditors must conduct a military status verification. This verification is proof the creditor has done his or her due diligence in trying to protect the debtors’ rights.

What Is a Military Status Verification For?

Before a court will enter a default judgment, the judge will almost always require the plaintiff (the lender, landlord or whomever is trying to get a judgment against an individual) to submit a military affidavit (sometimes called a nonmilitary affidavit, affidavit of military service, or affidavit in compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act). In this affidavit, the plaintiff swears he or she has done a military status verification and the results show that the individual is not on active military duty.

The plaintiff must be thorough, because the SCRA is a federal statute. If a plaintiff cavalierly executes an affidavit without conducting the required military status verification, severe penalties can result.

And the courts often require that the affidavit provide a definite answer as to status, with no equivocation or disclaimers.

Judges often reject affidavits with unguaranteed results, due to the unavailability of a Social Security number or other verifying information.

How to Get a Military Status Verification

Experienced lenders, servicers, attorneys, debt collectors and business owners utilize the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service (SCRACVS) as a one-stop resource for conducting military status verifications. The SCRACVS, based in Washington, D.C., accesses the United States Department of Defense DMDC SEERS database, and can usually perform SCRA military status verifications even if the Social Security number is unavailable.

In order to verify military status of an individual and get a military affidavit, log in to your account above. If you aren’t currently registered, you can register here.

Attorney Roy Kaufmann serves as the Director of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Centralized Verification Service, located in Washington, D.C. As a recognized authority on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Mr. Kaufmann has published hundreds of articles and hosted many webinars. His teachings help law firms and businesses to remain compliant with the SCRA rules and regulations so as to avoid costly fines.